Fever Dream
by PizzaNSunshine
Summary: Mateo has been sick in bed for over a week and the crown princess finds herself missing her royal wizard and partner in so many ways. When Rafa turns her away at the door, Elena has to get creative to find a way to Mateo's side.


"Tap…tap…tap…"

Groaning, Mateo scrunched his eyes tightly shut as he slowly woke from a deep slumber. It was still early in the evening, but Mateo had been in bed with a terrible cold for several days. As he lay there–– eyes still shut–– he thought he may be more comfortable on his other side but decided against it, for the very thought of lifting even a finger felt like a monumental effort and required more energy than he possessed. He didn't even want to open his eyes, his head ached so badly. As he began to slip back into the realm of dreams, he was roused once more by an odd tapping noise.

"Tap…tap…tap…"

Was that noise coming from his window? Slowly, he opened his eyes and turned his head, trying to see if there was a bird or or small animal making that noise when he froze. Had he the energy, he would have shouted from shock. Through the sheer curtain, he could see a shadowy figure perched upon his window ledge–– his _second story_ window ledge.

Mateo reached for his tamborita and groaned as he gingerly sat up, sliding his legs over the edge of the bed until his feet were touching the floor. That simple act drained him of the little energy he had and left him sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands as he pantied to catch his breath–– his eyes closed from the dull ache throbbing behind his eyes and the achiness that pulsed through every muscles in his body.

Once he felt that he had the strength, Mateo slowly got to his feet as he shivered with chill–– his burgundy pajamas feeling unusually scratchy against his tender, achy limbs–– and staggered over to the window, holding his tamborita before him. As he pulled back the curtain, Mateo gasped upon seeing Elena looking expectantly at him, crouched on his narrow window ledge like a cat waiting to be let inside.

Completely nonplussed, Mateo hurriedly opened his window to let the princess in.

"Elena!" he gasped breathlessly, "What in the world are you doing here–– on my window ledge of all things? We do have a front door, you know."

Elena slid gracefully through the window and stood before Mateo, grinning until she noticed the dark circles under his pain dulled eyes and the sheen of sweat on his grey-tinged face. Eyebrows furrowed with concern, Elena slid an arm around his shoulders and helped him stumble back to his bed. She glanced uncertainly across the room at the shut door as she said quietly, "I haven't seen you in almost a week and I've really missed you. I'd heard that you were pretty sick and your mother wouldn't let me up to see you earlier, so I waited for sunset and used the tree just outside your window to climb onto your ledge."

Elena fluffed his pillow as Mateo settled back into bed. She pulled the covers up and over him, smoothing them over his chest and smiled softly at his surprise.

"Elena," Mateo said as he broke into a fit of coughing, "the branches on that tree aren't very strong. I know this because I've fallen out of that tree before. I can't believe you took such a risk just to get into my room!"

Elena giggled, "Well, you of all people should know how determined I can be when I set my mind on something. I was determined to see you and I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Unless––" she looked uncertainly at him, wringing her hands before her, "unless, you would rather I leave you to rest. I— I would understand if you did."

If he'd only had the strength, Mateo would have laughed at the ridiculous implication of her question. Of course he wanted her there. Of course he would never turn her away. She was his best friend and it was her presence that he found himself craving most often when he was away from the palace.

He reached out and took her hand, tugging it until she lowered herself to sit on the edge of his bed. "Elena, don't be ridiculous. Of course I want you here," he paused as he noticed a satchel slung over her shoulder, "so, why are you here aside from wanting to see how pathetic I look when I'm sick?"

Elena tutted at him before saying, "You don't look pathetic, but it does hurt my heart to see you looking like this." She ran a hand gently across his forehead, sending little goosebumps down Mateo's spine that he knew had nothing to do with the chill as she brushed his wavy locks away from his eyes. Her mouth opening in shock, she gasped, "Mateo! You're so hot! Are you ok?"

Smiling faintly, he said, "I'm fine. I've had this fever for days now. I hope it breaks soon because it's making me completely miserable." He eyed the satchel again before saying, "What's in the bag?"

"I was hoping you'd ask," she grinned as she reached into the satchel and pulled out a large covered bowl, followed by a plate wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. "I have a bowl of abuela's spicy chicken soup that she made just for you! I hear it can cure even the most stubborn of cold bugs. Though––" she felt the side of the bowl and frowned slightly, "I think it needs to be reheated. Do you have a spell for that?"

"Yeah, I have a heating spell but I need a few minutes to recover from my hike across the room before I attempt it," Mateo grumbled to which she grinned unapologetically.

Elena unwrapped the plate and showed him the contents. It was a plate heaped with pan dulce. Elena blushed a little as she said shyly, "I–– I baked it myself," and handed him a piece.

Mateo took the sweet bread and looked up at Elena, his heart warming at the sweet gesture. She— the crown princess and practically the sovereign ruler of Avalor— had taken the time out of her busy schedule to do all of this— for him.

"Aww, Elena, thanks! But, you didn't have to go through all this trouble just for me!"

Elena opened her mouth to protest when she froze, looking at the door in wide eyed panic. The sound of footsteps approaching echoed up the stairwell outside the door.

"I should go! I don't want to make your mother mad!" She made to stand but Mateo took her hand and tugged it toward him. Surprised, Elena looked down at her royal wizard, her panic fading a bit as she met his eye.

Terrible as he felt, his heart had sunk at her words. Her mere presence had such a positive effect on his morale, he didn't want her to leave.

"Please," he rasped, "please don't go."

Her heart clenched as she looked into that dear face that looked so childlike in his weakened state— the pleading in his warm hazel-green eyes nearly undid her. How could she deny that face anything?

Looking around quickly, the wheels turned in her mind as she tried to think of a solution. Grinning roguishly. She pointed to his wardrobe and said, "Would it be terribly childish if I hid in your closet?"

Eyebrows raised in amusement, Mateo shook his head. Elena nodded and quickly slid her satchel and the goodies under his bed and dashed across the room with the silent agility of a cat on the prowl, sliding between the cracked open wardrobe doors as she crouched carefully behind the hanging vests, pants and sashes. She carefully pulled the doors shut and held her breath as she listened.

Mateo feigned sleep, groaning a little as he gingerly rolled over and turned his back to the door just before it opened with a low creak. Rafa peeked in the room, and seeing that Mateo was asleep, approached his bedside and felt his forehead. Tutting at the fever that was holding onto her son so stubbornly, she reached down to smooth his covers. She paused, sniffing as she thought she smelled a hint of vanilla in the air. Eyebrows furrowed, she thought that was an odd scent to smell in Mateo's room.

Seeing that he seemed fine and didn't need anything at that moment, she turned to leave the room when she stopped. The corner of a satchel she'd never seen before was peeking from beneath Mateo's bed. Quietly bending over to better peer under the bed, she raised an eyebrow when she spotted the covered bowl and the platter of pan dulce.

 _That's odd,_ she thought as she straightened, _Those aren't my dishes but if I didn't bring this to him then who—_

Narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips, she spied a slip of pink fabric stuck in the crack between the door and the frame of Mateo's wardrobe. It all clicked. There was only one person she knew who would go through such extreme measures to get what she wanted.

Rafa crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. She was actually rather pleased at the growing attachment between her son and the crown princess. She knew Elena was good for Mateo and had watched him grow in skill and confidence practically before her eyes under Elena's care and encouragement— something no amount of a mother's love had been able to accomplish.

Truthfully, she'd only turned Elena away that afternoon because Mateo had such a nasty bug, she didn't want Elena to catch what he had. But, she supposed the princess could make that decision for herself. Smiling indulgently at the— whatever it was that was developing between her son and the crown princess, she quietly left the room— taking care to make plenty of noise shutting the door.

A moment later, Elena crept from her hiding spot— a particularly smug smile tugging the corners of her lips— and padded over to Mateo's bed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Mateo?"

He didn't answer. Perplexed, she leaned over him to get a better look at his face and smiled softly as she realized he'd actually fallen asleep.

She got down on her hands and knees and retrieved her satchel along with the goodies she'd brought for him and arranged them on the bedside table near his head. She paused in her task, her eyes darting to Mateo's curled up form beneath the blanket as he rolled over and was facing her.

As he rustled around in his unconscious state she smiled fondly watched his eyebrows furrow and smooth— she could see movement beneath his eyelids, he must have been dreaming. As she watched him sleep, Elena thought she'd never seen such a sweet innocent face— his beautiful, messy dark chocolate curls framed his face which was utterly relaxed. She couldn't resist reaching down to run her fingers through the soft curls, brushing them back from his eyes. Her heart fluttered and warmth spread through her core as he smiled at her touch— did he know it was she who stood over him or did his unconscious self assume it was his mother?

Shrugging, she turned back to her task only to freeze, her breath catching in her throat as she clearly heard Mateo say her name.

"Elena…"

Grinning, she turned back to the bed, thinking he was awake and excited to share a piece of pan dulce and all of the palace happenings since he's been away, but she paused, raising a confused eyebrow as she observed her still sleeping friend.

As she watched, his lips twitched up into an adorably crooked smile and his eyebrows arched high on his forehead. He was clearly dreaming of something that made him very happy, which in turn made Elena very happy.

She was about to grab her now empty satchel and spirit herself out the window and back to the palace, when his lips twitched again and he murmured softly, "Elena…"

She knelt at his side and peered into his face, wondering if he was waking up and looking for her.

"Mateo?" she said softly, "Are you awake?"

Eyes still firmly shut, he smiled more widely at the sound of her voice and hugged his pillow to his chest as he murmured, "You're so beautiful… _mi amor_ …Elena…"

Her heart broke into a gallop as her mouth fell open with an audible little "pop". Did he just say what she thought he said? Was this how he really felt? If so, he'd done a very good job of hiding it. They were the best of friends. They trained together, studied together, chased down dangerous criminals together— but romance?

Truthfully, it had never crossed her mind— not that she wasn't interested in him. She'd always had a soft spot where her royal wizard was concerned— she couldn't stay away from him and became restless when they had to be apart for more than a day or two. Then there was the fact that, for some reason unknown to her, she couldn't resist touching him when they were together— a hand on his arm, a friendly hug, an arm around his shoulders, sometimes she even found herself reaching for his hand. She was pretty touchy with all of her family and friends— it was just a part of her nature— but with Mateo? Even she recognized that there was something special about her attachment to him.

As they grew closer together, he'd begun reciprocating the gestures. He understood her so well that he knew instinctively how much she appreciated the little touches, especially when she was having a hard time. He'd touch her shoulder or take her hand before offering a word of encouragement— it was really very sweet.

Elena hadn't taken the time to closely examine her feelings about her royal wizard, she was too busy learning how to be a good ruler to her people— and protecting Avalor— and mastering her magical powers— and so much more.

But, she smiled as she as she thought about it, and couldn't deny that there was something— special— between herself and her royal wizard.

As she watched him slumber on, she wondered if he actually consciously knew that he felt that way? It was plausible that he had taken just as little time to think about anything outside his magical studies and his duties as royal wizard. Those things kept him just as busy as she, especially considering the fact that he was her right hand man in so many ways.

 _Well_ , she thought with a small shrug and a smile, _we have plenty of time to figure out— whatever this is— together._

She leaned over and pressed a tiny, soft kiss to Mateo's flushed cheek and grinned as he smiled again in his sleep. "Feel better soon, my friend. I miss you when you're gone."

She got to her feet and let herself silently out the window, unable to help the silly grin spreading across her face or the odd sensation of butterflies in her stomach as she disappeared into the night, wondering all the while what it would be like for her best friend and royal wizard to refer to her as "his love" when he was awake?


End file.
